The 2011 women’s volleyball season opened with some questions about how the team would
fare competitively. The team ended their season Saturday, October 29, in Watertown,
Wisconsin, having some questions answered and having hope for the seasons ahead. The
Lady Pioneers entered the Midwest Regional Tournament on the campus of Maranatha as the #4
seed. The host Crusaders were the #1 seed, followed by Lincoln Christian
University at #2 and Moody Bible College as the #3 entry.
On Friday, October
28, Northland had an opening quarter-final match against the #5
seed Kuyper College Cougars. Northland had not played for a week; this fact showed
in the first set as the Pioneers were a little slow to the ball. With the help
of six service aces, Northland took set one with a score of 25-20. Ellie Hodak led
the attack in set two with four kills. Melissa Moisant had six digs on defense, and
Northland won 25-21. Valerie Stauff led the way in the third set with four kills
as Alyse Sugimoto spread the offense around and kept the Kuyper block off
balance. Sugimoto finished with twenty-six assists, and Northland won the third set
25-18.
The results of that game put the
Lady Pioneers into the evening feature match against the MBBC Crusaders, who are a
contender for the Northern Athletic Conference title in the NCAA III arena of
play. With a strong offense led by All American Torey Delozier, MBBC started strong
with a 14-6 lead. A weak Northland offense helped the home team roll to a 25-15
win. In set two, MBBC continued to own play at the net with a 25-11 win. Even with some Crusader line-up changes in the third set, the momentum and strong
play stayed on Maranatha's side; they finished the match with a 25-20 win. Although a bit frustrated with the way the game went, Coach
Herron remarked, “MBBC is a very good team and will
probably be in the NCCAA II National Championship. I wish them well!”
This semi-final loss put Northland into the Consolation Championship on Saturday
against Moody, who lost to Lincoln Christian in the other semi-final.
Northland and the Archers had played three times previously in the season. MBI had
a 3-0 advantage. Captain Ellie Hodak commented, “We wanted to finish our season
going as hard as we could. We have grown as a team and have improved our play.” In set one had, both teams battled to a score of 17-17.
MBI went on a five-point run and finished the first set with a 25-20 win. MBI jumped to a 12-1 lead in set two. After a timeout and some encouragement, the
Pioneers stayed with the Archers and actually outscored MBI 17-13; but the huge
lead could not be overcome and a 25-18 win went to MBI. Set three was close up
to an 8-8 score. Another run of five points spelled trouble again for Northland
and a 25-13 win went to MBI.
“We went in
as the #4 seed and came out the same. There was progress made and then we lost
momentum. I am happy that we only have one senior and some solid potential in
younger players. If players understand that you don’t improve the quality of
something by adding more of the same then we will get better,” summarized Coach
Herron.
Melissa
Moisant and Elizabeth Leeds were named as Midwest Regional All-Tournament players. Alyse
Sugimoto was named to the Midwest Regional team for her season-long play. Ellie Hodak was
also named to the Midwest Regional team as the #6 player and is a candidate for NCCAA All-American status.